The Holland Hotel has seen many incarnations since it was built in 1918. Initially an elegant residence, it had deteriorated by the 80s into a seedy Single-Room-Occupancy hotel that the city leased from a slumlord to house homeless families. The Holland was among the worst of the so-called 'welfare hotels', the city's temporary housing solution to what was perceived as a short-term problem. The vermin-infested, drug and prostitution-ridden Holland was featured in Jonathon Kozol's landmark book "Rachel and her Children" and was described by the New York Times as "a kiddie park designed by the Marquis de Sade". It was cited for nearly 1000 health and building violations.

Project Renewal's newest affordable/supportive housing complex is the St. Nicholas House in Harlem, providing housing and support services to 94 formerly homeless and very-low income residents. Modeled on the Holland, the new building, which opened on October 7th, 2004 features a computer lab, a library and on-site recreational services in addition to comprehensive support, medical and employment services. As with all our residences, we were intent on being good neighbors to the surrounding community, so Project Renewal worked extensively with the community and Community Board 9 to ensure that all neighborhood concerns about the project were met. When we broke ground on the project in July 2003, we celebrated with a party in St. Nicholas Park in which we presented Community Board 9 with an award for their "visionary and generous welcome" of the new building and "bettering the lives of vulnerable New Yorkers." Representative Charles Rangel praised the project as "another shining example of what can be accomplished when a diverse cross section of the community comes together to implement initiatives that will combat the critical housing shortage in New York."

See what the Amsterdam News had to say about St. Nicholas Residence

"One day the Director of Project Renewal’s In Homes Now came in.  The concept just made so much sense…The first two years…I struggled with my sobriety.  The beautiful thing is I wasn’t kicked into the street. They were always there to support me and give me alternatives. " more...

In 2003, Project Renewal was awarded one of only eleven grants nationwide to create an innovative new program for chronically homeless people. In Homes Now provides New Yorkers living on the street or who have spent more than two of the past four years in city shelters, with their own apartments and provides comprehensive health, support, addiction and employment services to clients where the live. This 'housing first' approach is aimed at helping the hardest-to-reach -- people who have been left behind by the current system. In Homes Now is part of the Collaborative Initiative to End Chronic Homelessness, a joint endeavor funded by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Veterans Administration. As of June 21st, 2004, all 40 of the hard-to-reach clients had moved in to their new apartments and were receiving comprehensive services; Project Renewal was the first of the eleven grantees to reach this early benchmark of success.

Watch an interactive video about In Homes Now client Craig Farrow.

For more information, view a report on NY1 or go to www.ich.gov

Often, individuals who have come back from homelessness or addiction just need a safe, affordable place to live and some ongoing support to complete their recovery. So Project Renewal created its Lease on Life program, whereby formerly homeless or addicted men and women can move into one of 36 apartments we've leased and have access to whatever recovery, employment or life support they may need as they readjust to living in the community. The apartments are made affordable through subsidies from the state's Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services.

But we found that by offering clients closely coordinated comprehensive services including psychiatric and medical care, case management and employment assistance many of the residents could indeed achieve goals they, and the medical community, never thought possible. With the appropriate opportunities, clients began establishing a network of family and friends, taking on more and more responsibility and even pursuing employment. As a result we changed the program to provide maximum support for peoples' achievable goals of moving on and moving out. We added a strong emphasis on employment, which has been extremely successful both in improving clients' self-esteem and their ability to live with greater independence. Clients can work with nearby Fountain House, an excellent nonprofit skilled in helping mentally ill people succeed; they can work with our in-house printing operation, IMPRINTS ; or they can work with our Job Links program, which helps individuals into competitive employment. Also, recognizing that the move from the Clinton Residence to less supervised settings was often too big a step, we converted one of the residence's seven floors into a "transitional" floor, where clients are still connected to the Residence but take on much greater responsibilities. As a result, since inception, 73% of the residents have moved into more independent housing and all continue to succeed in these new settings. And today, a full 75% of the residents are involved in some type of employment activity.

See what Jay Neugeboren said about the Clinton in Newsweek

See what the New York Daily News wrote about the Clinton Residence

See what a New York Times Opinion piece said about the Clinton Residence

See what part the Clinton played in a feature article in The New York Times